What Dave Roberts Said After Dodgers Season Ended (And What it Means for This Offseason)

The skipper spoke highly of his team after being swept in the NLCS.

Oct 14, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts speaks in a press conference after game three of the NLCS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs against the Milwaukee Brewers at Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Los Angeles Dodgers were swept by the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series and now face a long offseason.

Manager Dave Roberts recently came under fire for a few questionable decisions during Game 3's loss, and his response was reshuffling the lineup to a more familiar look than the last contest. Shohei Ohtani was back in his leadoff spot, and after an Andy Pages RBI single in the second inning, appeared to validate Roberts' move with a three-run home run to take a commanding 4-0 lead.

For just a moment, it appeared that the two-time defending champions would force a Game 5 with two-time Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal on the mound. Unfortunately, this lasted just two frames.

Though baseball fans are able to point to many moments these past four games that reflected poorly on a Roberts decision, the offense was inexcusable all series long. During the regular season, the Dodgers hit .257 (third in MLB), but over the course of the NLCS, hit just .187.

Despite the output, nothing could change how the skipper felt about his group. Roberts spoke after the contest on how proud he is of his team.

"Extremely proud," Robert said. "It never feels good to lose and not accomplish a goal to win the World Series. It started back in the early part of February. I love this team and what we had to go through. It’s one of those things that every night we take the field, people are bringing their best to beat us."

Going into the NLCS, the Dodgers had a roster with the average age of 30.9 years old (the oldest in MLB) to the Brewers' average age of 27.3 (the 12th youngest). Roberts was asked about the factor that age played in this series, and had a response that is very telling for the team's offseason plans.

"I really appreciate the question. I just don’t think that in four games that we came up short that age was a factor," Roberts said. "What I will say is that those guys, some of the plays that [Brice] Turang made going to his right, the plays that the outfielders made, that’s certainly youth and talent.
It wasn’t that they were fatigued. We have off days going into series. I just don’t think that our age of our ball club reflected this series. We got beat.

"There’s no because we’re too old or whatever. Every facet of the game, if you kind of unpack it, we were bested."

Roberts' unwavering support of his veterans will likely enhance the trust in the clubhouse, and with a long offseason now underway, will hopefully translate into regrouping and retooling for 2027.

Add us as a preferred source on Google